


of Sailboats and Stars

by Kresnik



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Drabble Collection, Gen, Humor, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Romance, Spoilers, Tags added as required, Time Travel, character tags in order of appearance not frequency
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-07
Updated: 2018-02-08
Packaged: 2018-05-05 12:12:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 22
Words: 6,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5374775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kresnik/pseuds/Kresnik
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of unrelated one piece drabbles -- some longer than others. </p><p>With a bit of everything pretty much. Especially Ace.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

A night silent but for the waves

Gazing up at the starry sky and dreaming

Dreaming of the dead past, of the better days

From the hole in your chest your heart slowly creeps out

You push and pull and you hold it with your bare hands

The beat skids and falters; stutters to a painful stop

Then with a shock it jolts back into your chest

His will never return, lost forever

In a sea of fire and memories

Of long lost happiness.

_Of Ace._


	2. The Question

"Oh, that kid is super obvious," Nami exclaimed. "First it's all 'Meat, meat, meat!' and he launches himself at Zoro!"

Usopp puckered up his lips. "And then he's just, 'kiss Zoro, kiss!'" He made some kissy sounds at Zoro, before ducking with a yelp when a sword swung at his head. "I've fought goldfish more ferocious than you-- Hey!"

Sanji smirked, leaning against the rail as the swordman chased the sniper around the deck below. "And then, when he finally gets it... He demands more! 'More, Zoro, I want moooooore'..." He drawled out the latter half in a seductive groan, catching the ire of the marimo below. 

"Damn cook!" Was his battle cry, and "Stupid Marimo!" Was the returning shout from the blond as Zoro leapt up to the top deck at him.

Letting out a huff as the focus shifted away from him, Usopp slumped to the ground with a weary sigh, content now to watch the other two fight from the sidelines, while occasionally egging them on with a shout. 

Nami grinned at the scene, before turning to the final member of their party. "Did you have anything else you wanted to ask, Ace?"

He twitched, and resolved not to question the Straw Hats again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The question... What do you think it was?
> 
> Edit: oh yeah... I wrote this when I only just started One Piece. So Ace is kinda OOC. In fact all of them are...


	3. Too close, now burnt

In the beginning, Ace didn't even need the flaming power of the Devil Fruit. He already had a raging fire burning in his chest.

Luffy was like a moth to the flame-- entranced at first sight.  
And no matter how many times his wings were clipped, how many times he got too close to the sun and was burnt, he refused to give up.

Brick-headed, was what Ace though.

Stubborn, too. A crybaby. Such an annoying brat. He didn't know when to just get lost and stop it already. Because Ace didn't need anyone else but Sabo.

Most certainly not little _babies_ who couldn't stop _crying_.

And so, despite that one, odd, disapproving look from his blond friend, he continued to shove the younger of the three away. Keep him at arms length.

Luffy was as tough as tar, though. Nothing would keep him away for long, short of tying him to a tree and calling the local wildlife for dinner.

...But even as tough and merciless and grown up as Ace and Sabo were, they weren't going to be _that_ horrible.

So, they continued to lose him in the forest, tangled up in vines and shrubs and venomous snakes.

No matter how much he got cut and bruised, bitten, stomped, chewed and spat out, though, Luffy didn't stop.

_Even with countless holes in its wings, the moth still flutters back to the fire._

It wasn't until after their secret had been discovered, they hid their treasure and, guilty, decided to go back for the clingy kid that somewhere, somehow, had slowly started to grow on them.

_But even the most valiant moth has its limits. And Luffy got too close to the flames._

They found him bloody and beaten. If Ace had to count the number of bones sticking out through the skin, he'd need both hands and maybe even his feet.

Picking him up resulted in a heartrending scream of pain. Ace carried him gingerly back to the bandit's house, but even then he knew.

_There is no way for a creature who has lost its wings to ever fly again._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this little drabble I imagined that Luffy didn't have his devil fruit.


	4. Control Loss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mild mature content, Lucci/Luffy

As he came to, vision blurry, he became aware of several things. First, there was a warm, pliant body beneath him. Heat scorching through him at every point of contact.

Secondly, his teeth were sunk into a shoulder, bloody tang on his tongue. He was as far as he could go, with nails scraping further down his back at every breath, he stared at the other as his face came into focus.

Black eyes gazed back up, half lidded with desire and hazy lust. Saliva slipped down his chin, sweat coating his skin.

Lucci drew his lower body up, pulling away, as the nails in his back tightened in protest-- before slamming back down into the heat with all his strength.

It was the best kind of scream he'd ever heard.

Some small, weak part of him hoped it wouldn't be the last. 

The rest decided that, perhaps, his Zoan half taking over wasn't as bad as he'd imagined.


	5. Aloneness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ace is feeling a little homesick. Or is it luffysick?

The waves of the ocean gently rock the small fishing boat-- more of a dinghy, really-- that's been given a breath of new life as a Pirate Ship.

Today, like the past four, has been mild. The sun is out, a handful of clouds scattered in the sky, and wind strong enough to fill the sails without being _too_ much so.

For a maiden voyage of the newly minted Pirate, Ace, it'd been perfect so far. He was on course for a nearby island-- Rowan, if he remembered right-- and there was a good lot of food and water tucked away in the boats single, cramped room below deck. Far more than he remembered gathering himself, in fact. He had a feeling Makino and the other villagers may have had something to do with that.

And yet, Ace let out a long sigh, he was still utterly _miserable_. Why, you might ask?

For most questions in Aces life, there was a single answer that could be applied to almost any situation.

 _Luffy_.

He couldn't stop thinking about him! Cute, adorable little Luffy! His dear younger brother! He huffed, leaning against the railing and staring at the empty horizon.

He was probably getting into all sorts of trouble by now! All alone --a brief, biting flash of blond flickered in his vision-- without Ace there to watch out for him. He grit his teeth. Remembered how Luffy had hidden his face behind his hat, even as he grinned and waved and faded into the distance.

But he couldn't. He couldn't go back, no matter how much he wanted, because it would only make this feeling worse. And Luffy, Luffy... He would get so excited, and worried, but so so happy... and then hurt all over again.

Because Ace would have to leave him behind. Again. And that was the only thing that kept him from turning the hell around and going back.

Still, the thought that Luffy would be better off if he didn't return was a cold comfort. Because now, on this empty ship, even with the sun and the picturesque view, he was lonely and miserable.

And he should be feeling excited, happy and eager-- but he couldn't. 

_Because dammit, he missed his little brother._


	6. Pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Painful to read, write, and... Yeah...

As the fist went through his back he dimly registered the pain. It was a faint, fluttering feeling in his back, and yet he knew, he _knew_... That it was far more than that.

Looking at his little brother, he knew Luffy knew it, too. The stricken, horrified look across his face made it plain as day that he realised it.

Ace wasn't going to make it. This was the end.

And it hurt. Luffys pain was Ace's pain. Aces pain was Luffys pain.

He grit his teeth. That his pain had caused even more pain...

_It was unbearable._


	7. Turned Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No OC's here! Nope!

She smiled at the slumped form in the cell, mere feet and a solid inch of seastone the only things that separated them.

"Oh, darling, how we'll have so much fun." The words were bitter and cloying on her tongue, but a certain reputation had to be kept.

Even if she did plan on "accidentally" releasing him later. Certain curious eyes had to be satisfied, first.

And so Luffy, who'd travelled back through time and spent countless years getting ready to save his brother, stepped into the cell, whip slowly uncurling from her hip.

"We're going to have so much fun." 

The words felt like tears.


	8. Self-loathing

Nami smiled, full of teeth and so fake. 

That boy with the straw hat, Luffy, grinned in return. Warm and generous and welcoming.

Her arm ached.

And she's never felt closer to the dirt than now.


	9. Break

By the time Marineford rolled around, the Whitebeard pirates were already broken.

Most people thought it was Ace's death, or Whitebeards death.

But really... Those were just the nails in the coffin.

A coffin full of Thatch.


	10. All according to plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marco/Ace

When Ace suddenly lurched forward in the middle of a conversation, Marco assumed it was just another attack of narcolepsy, and stepped forward with arms at the ready to prevent him falling face first to the ground.

Aces hands shot out, latching onto the sides of his open shirt, and PULLED. Caught off guard Marco stumbled forward, and Ace took the chance to crush their lips together.

If one were to say that Marco was surprised by this, one would be gravely understating the situation.

Marco was utterly flabbergasted. There wasn't even the faintest hint or word to suggest that this would happen. 

Although, as he wrapped his arms around the freckled Ace, tugging him closer to deepen the impromptu kiss, he couldn't really say he minded.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marco the checkout "chick"

Marco scowled impassively at the boy across the counter. He'd been standing there for nearly fifteen minutes, staring up at the menu indecisively.

And it was clear that he was aware it was a nuisance, because he'd glance towards the blond male almost as often as the menu items, as if worried he'd be suddenly kicked out.

Marco sighed. "Kid, if you're not ordering, if you'd please move to the side so that the next in line can-"

The freckled teen -not quite an adult, but too old for a boy, he supposed- interrupted him hastily, hands held up in front of him. Marcos left eye twitched in annoyance at being cut off.

It was probably one of his pet peeves. Thatch, loveable as he was, was a serial offender; and the rest of the family were little better.

Freckles, as he would henceforth be dubbed, seemed to have a similar habit. He was currently rambling-- something about his brother and a black hole, -Marco hadn't been paying much attention- when he held a hand up to stop the stream of crap.

"If you're not ordering, get outta here." He snapped irritably, glaring at the kid with the same glare he tended to reserve for when Thatch did something monumentally STUPID.

The jaw closed with a clack, eyes widening in surprise, and-- was it just the light, or did his cheeks go red?

A hand shot up to point at the menu suddenly. "Ten of those."

Marco followed the direction in which the digit was pointing.

"Ten Jumbo Phoenix Boxes it is, yoi." He smirked, and rang up the order before Freckles could stutter so much as "extra fries".

Freckles pulled a face-- read, grimace-- at the price, but dutifully paid for the exorbitantly large order anyway. Marco hoped both that he had a lot of friends to eat all the food, and that he'd be quick in taking his order and going.

Realising that the teen was still standing and now staring at him entirely, he waved a hand at him in a shooing motion.

"Over there, Freckles. Your order will take a while."

His black haired customer wisely moved to the side.


	12. Self-Hate

If Ace ever doubted he was a monster and a freak, that doubt was now gone.

He'd felt a desire. A deep urge... To kiss Marco.

But Marco is a guy, and so is Ace! Wanting to kiss another guy like that is disgusting. Ace should've expected it, though. He's a demon, should never have even been born, so the fact he's having unnatural urges isn't unexpected.

Still. Of all the people for him to taint like this. Marco... Ace really respected the guy. Admired him a bit. Clearly too much of both.  
But he was free, like all of his brothers and their father, and just had an air about him.

The thought of the other crew members only made his -admittedly, already quite terrible- mood sink further. Things had gotten off to a rocky start --mostly by him-- but it had just started to settle down. He'd just started to feel like he could maybe belong here.

And then THIS happens. Just typical. Whenever he has something good, and he gets used to it, something bad happens to take it away.

A flicker of remembered flames and he curls in on himself in the crows next. Sabo. The name is painful to even think about. One of his best friends, his brother, torn away from him, from Luffy.

His mind drifts to the Spade Pirates. His crew. His very own crew, of which he was the captain. They'd been like a little family.

And now they are no more.

Because of him. Because he was so weak.

He couldn't even protect them, and now they were gone their separate ways with the crew disbanded.

And now this. Whitebeard... Pops. Everyone here slowly growing on him and sneaking past the walls he puts up, past the wary and towards the fragile pieces of him.

And now it will all disappear.

Because of him.

Because he is a monster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ace really hates himself.


	13. It comes in threes

1\. **The Past**  
Some nights, Ace dreamed of That Day.

And on those nights, after waking in a cold sweat, he wondered to himself...

What if he hadn't stopped? What if he'd ignored Akainu?

Maybe... Luffy would still be alive.

2\. **What if?**  
Some nights, Ace dreams of a different fate. One where his little brother didn't die.

Sometimes, Ace gives up his own life to protect Luffy. His legs were fast enough and he made it just in time!

Sometimes, Marco is there, screaming at Ace to run as he keeps the magma man at bay.

Sometimes, they all run, Ace and Luffy, with Marco half dragging them.

3\. **The reality**

Every night, Ace wakes up alone. Marco never sleeps in the same bed anymore.

Won't even look him in the eyes anymore.

Is it to hide hate? Resentment?

Regret?

Ace will never know, because he can't bring himself to ask.

This is just the reality of things.


	14. Role reversal

He twiddled his thumbs. He combed his hair. He counted Jolly Rogers in his head.

Well, he'd tried counting sheep first. But sheep turned to meat and counting meat made him hungry.

_Damn it._

It's official. Ace can't sleep.

Also, he's hungry now.

 _Thanks, brain. Thanks so much_.

 


	15. Reverse Role

When he wakes it's sudden, head jolting back from the cluster of papers on the desk. A trail of drool connects his mouth and the report he was working on.

Said drool was quickly severed, wiped away, and erased from history forever. Because _that never happened, yoi._

Marco wasn't exactly sure when these attacks of narcolepsy began. Though he knows it was before he even had his Devils Fruit.

He's only just woken up, but he already feels his eyes start to droop again.

 

_Fuck it, yoi._


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a snippet of an idea

He wants to sleep. The dark circles underneath his eyes ache, he wants to curl into a ball and sleep.

But he _can't_. The thing they're running away will find them, will pull them apart at the seams, examine every piece and then throw it all aside.

So he forces himself to stay away. His eyes droop dangerously, and with the suit out of commission from the crash, he has no fail safe. He shakes his head from side to side.

He. Must. Stay. Awake.

But.

He can't.

When Ace wakes up, for a moment he doesn't even realize he's slept. Then he becomes more aware. He stares out at the endless highway ahead, the cars zipping by.

"How long?" He needs to know. How much time passed? Was he out for minutes? Hours?

The blond in the drivers seat glances at him-- concern, worry, annoyance-- for a moment before his eyes return to the road, intent and focused. He almost can't believe this is his first time driving a car.

Or even seeing a car.

A few moments passed, before the eventual reply, "Fifteen minutes, yoi." His lips turned down ever so slightly. A frown.

From the back, another voice chimed in. "We couldn't wake you up this time!" A man with a pompadour, he vaguely recalled. Thatch, his mind-link helpfully supplied, and his head jerked a bit in surprise.

It was still working? He'd thought with his exo-suit down for the count that system functions would be gone as well, but apparently not.

He opened the GPS, then pulled up the mission details; the last transmission from the mothership. What he saw made him frown.

Error. Error. Error.

Data corrupted. Invalid file.

A series of red crosses filtered through his vision-- invisible to everyone else-- and he twitched.

Shit. That was... Bad. Not good. Not at all.

He tabbed off and checked the gps.

It was connected to the car. All fine there. The rendezvous point, set over the wire by Koala in their last communication, was still over 1000 miles away.

As much as he'd love to keep driving, his current lack of suit or stimulants wasn't conducive to being awake. And he doubted the offworlders were used to going days without sleep, either.

So he'd have to control the narcolepsy manually. The symptoms tended to lessen if he had plenty of sleep in regular intervals, and sleep was not going to come in a moving vehicle. His brain just wouldn't allow it.

If he had his suppressants, this probably wouldn't even be an issue, he notes as an aside.

But for the time being, they had to find somewhere to stay for the night, and pray to god they'd gotten far enough away from...

That. He couldn't even think it. Quite literally, with the way the mind-link was acting. It stored many of his more critical memories as well as mission data. It was like an external hard drive for the human brain. Disconnecting it felt like having amnesia.

He hoped it wasn't too damaged. He felt that there was something he couldn't replace on it.

In the back, Thatch and the other man--woman?-- had begun a quiet discussion. Izo came to mind, wearing a Japanese kimono and having makeup.

Well, at least that was still there. He made a mental note to run some diagnostics later tonight, to assess the full damage, especially to the suit.

For now, though... "We should find somewhere to stop soon." The sun was starting to set, and with that, the darkness would set in. With reduced visibility, they couldn't continue at their current speed. And there wasn't enough room to sleep in the car, either. Maybe he should invest in a tent?

Maybe on the next life or death dash across the country.

The man next to him in the drivers seat hummed. "There was a sign for a town a few minutes ago. It had fifteen written next to it." He tapped the wheel with his fingers.

Fifteen? Miles, he assumed. Not far away at all, then. It was good timing.

Someone said something in the back, though he wasn't paying attention, and it was followed by a thud and a yelp. So, one of those in the back had hit the other? There was a chuckle over from his right.

He turned, briefly, to check behind him.

Thatch was cradling his head, styled hair looking deflated, as Izo gave him a filthy look.

Ace decided he didn't want to know what it was Thatch had said. There's bravery, then there's stupidity. Like charging into a bar brawl unarmed and half-drunk when the other guys all had knives.

...Why was he even thinking about this?

A ping from the front took his attention. He checked the GPS panel, and then he realized they were in town.

And what a fine town it was indeed! The first shop he laid eyes on was boarded up, the next wasn't much better, and everything was dusty. Damn desert town.

He quickly accessed the mind-link, pinging for the local server. Pull up a map, find somewhere to stay.

The Bent Ducat. Due to its bar, it looked like the trashiest gay club he'd even seen. Not even close to being any type of reputable establishment. Let alone somewhere he'd willing shut both eyes.

The other three seemed oblivious as they walked in the door off to the side labeled Reception. There didn't seem to be any other places around, and it was late, so he didn't even bother to fight it.

He was tired. The others were tired. Whatever, then.

As they walked in, he took in the interior. Dingy, flaking yellow paint dotted the walls in patches, as if someone had once tried to do it up and lost interest halfway.

Izo was talking to the woman at the reception desk, -- a disheveled looking brunette-- inquiring about the rooms.

"Of course, we have rooms available. Prices are listed over here," her hand waved to a small board to the side. "Discounts for long stays."

Now, the state paid for all his travel expenses, so the price didn't really matter to him. But for fucks sake, they charged by the hour...

And really didn't help that the lady at the reception desk was now watching --read: staring intensely--the four of them with an appraising look.

It was late, though, and though the others hadn't said anything yet, he knew they had to be tired.

So he handed over his state-provided accommodations card with only a sigh. Linda, as the badge on her shirt stated, gave him a vapid smile.

When Ace asked for four rooms, however, things hit a bit of a... snag.

"Ohh... I'm so sorry sir, but we only have two double rooms left for tonight." she said in an appropriately apologetic tone but not really looking all that sorry about.

He sighed. Loudly. "Fine, whatever. We'll take it." he replied, somewhat snappy. He was tired, he didn't have any suppressants, and his narcolepsy was fucking fantastic.

By this, he meant he was going to pass out any minute now and didn't give a shit about room arrangements anymore.

Linda handed him back his card, along with two key cards. He threw one at Thatch, or rather, his head, the man yelping as he caught it. The noise didn't aid his rapidly deteriorating mood much.

"I don't care who goes where. I'm going to-" and he paused, glancing at the key he held. "105. Figure the rest out yourself." and if cared to anyone said anything about it, he wasn't listening, instead turning on his heel and walking away.

And while he's sure they probably did have plenty of things to say about it, he gives no more fucks. Literally. Zero. He's had it with today.

Eyelids drooping, he makes his way down the hall, vaguely aware of someone following behind him.

Maybe he could stop for a minute? Just rest his eyes for a bit, then go the rest of the way to the room.

Yes. This seemed like a good plan... Wait, no! He couldn't give in like this! He had to get to the room. God only knows what kind of derelict would be wandering the corridor at night.

In the end though, he didn't have much of a choice in the matter, as a familiar heaviness quickly blanketed him and his world went black.

  
When he woke, it was in a mostly dark room. He was tucked neatly into bed. A bed he couldn't getting in. Hell, he couldn't even remember finding the room.

Must've passed out. Well, whatever. He poked at the mind-link, and blinked when there wasn't any response.

Like... None. Nada. Zilch.

Then he realized he wasn't wearing his exosuit. The thought made him shudder involuntarily. Where was it? Did someone steal it while he was passed out? The things were expensive, he knew, but didn't they realize only one person could use them?

Shaking his head, he put that thought aside. For now, he needed to find out where he was, exactly. He sat up quickly, shoving the heavy covers of the bed aside, and looked around the unfamiliar room.

To say it was a hole in the wall would be insulting to an actual hole in the wall. The wallpaper seemed to be at least 50 years old, torn in some places, peeling in others, and was stained a dull yellow, most likely from cigarette smoke.

To his left, there was a door. And straight ahead of him, another door. Bathroom and the exit, he supposed.

To his right was a dim lamp, and one of the offworlders. The sight made some of the tension drop from his shoulders. Not dragged off by some creep, then.

The blond guy --who name remained a mystery-- was sitting on a dingy chair in the corner, reading what appeared to be The Holy Bible.

The fuck?

Ace was surprised they even still had those damn things in hotels. God knows he'd defaced his share of them whilst traveling over the years.

The guy was reading with a keen interest! Just his luck. He couldn't stand religion. Always preaching about others doing the right thing, whilst secretly doing the total opposite themselves.

It made him sick.

In the last corner, there was a bedside table. It was missing the drawer, but sitting on it, was his suit. Folded neatly, even.

So. The guy took it off him and put him to bed? He reached over to grab it, because who knows what kind of damage had been caused by the crash, and if it could be fixed, he should try to do so now while they were stopped.

Moving over to the edge of the bed, suit in hand, he realised something. He was naked. Completely.

Well, he hadn't been wearing anything under the suit but...

He gave the male in the corner an unimpressed look. Some kind of religious pervert, then?

Why did he always seem to get stuck with the weirdos...


	17. Magic + Luffy = Disaster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Magical disasters, sighing
> 
> Mild saboace. Like, if you squint?

Having Luffy, Ace and Sabo in the same room was a sure recipe for disaster.

No, scratch that.

Having Luffy in a room, period meant the chance of destruction was high.

Adding a lab full of potent magical items to the mix? Well, if you like to chase danger then you'd certainly be in luck.

Needless to say, he probably should've anticipated that SOMETHING would go horribly wrong; though he doubts he ever could've predicted THIS.

At the other end of the room, a shock of black wavy hair and a freckled face was all that could be seen of Ace, the rest hidden behind the table that WASN'T turned on its side.

In the corner, sitting on rickety chair, was Luffy. It was strange, the ball of energy usually filled with endless motion was restrained to fidgeting guiltily on the seat, alternating between side-eyeing Ace and Sabo.

Oh, and his head was adorned with a pair of fluffy, black ears and matching tail. But that was really the least of his worries...

Sabo sighed, rubbing his forehead with a gloved hand. And then he sighed again for good measure.

"Care to remind me whose idea it was to sneak into Robins lab again?" he glanced at Ace, who shrunk back even further behind the metal edge.

"And besides that... Why the heck would you try to THROW the table, Luffy?" he outright glared at the other boy, who looked to the side and whistled innocently.

Never let it be said Luffy was a good liar. "W-Wasn't me!" because he wasn't. At all. And the ear twitching --while very adorable, Sabo thinks quietly to himself-- doesn't do him any favors in that department.

Sabo sighed again. He was going to run out of sighs if he kept this up. Turning back to Ace, he said, "Alright, we need to get out of here. Find Robin. Hopefully she can fix this..."

Ace shot up, ready to leap over the table to maybe strangle his brother. "Hopefully? She damn well better be able to! Like hell I'm staying like this forever!" was practically shouted in an oddly high pitched voice, as if he was strained.

Unfortunately, jumping up like that bought attention to more pressing matters. Such as the fact that Ace was currently very female, and also very shirtless.

Sabo went distinctly red, and quickly turned away to stare in the opposite direction. There was a skeleton, of all things.

Yes, skeletons were nice. Way better than imagining your brother turned sisters breasts... Damnit!

Ace blinked. Once, twice in confusion, before scowling. "Hey, what's the cold shoulder for?!" he growled.

The impending fight, if any, was quickly cut short by Luffy's sudden laughter. "Haha, Ace's chest is all jiggly! Just like Hammocks!"

"Oh."

There's a clatter behind him, maybe Ace, maybe Luffy --he better not have left that chair!-- but he isn't quite game to check.

There's a mutter somewhere behind him, low enough that he probably wasn't meant to hear it. "Of all the days to go shirtless. How embarrassing."

Which brings him to himself. He doesn't seem to have undergone any physical changes, but...

Well, he can hear even the most quiet mutter from Ace who is all the way on the other side of the room. He can hear it as if he was right next to him.

Sabo sighed. Ran his fingers through his hair, pausing when he felt a point on his ear that wasn't there before.

Really?

He was out of sighs, now.


	18. Revenge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm working on the prompts, I swear! But they're both going to be really long. So I just wanted to get a few of these shorter ones up in the meantime.
> 
> Enjoy!

After Thatch's funeral.

Aces thoughts were consumed with revenge. He hadn't talked to anyone in the three days since then.

No-one tried to talk to him, either. Whether it was the bloody look in his eyes, or their own personal mourning...

Thatch would've been there, and the stray thought was like a stab. Thatch would've been there, talking to him no matter what the mood.

No matter how he felt.

He was just that kind of brother. Beneath all the pranks, the perverted humour, the silly behaviours... Was a truly kind man.

And Ace would not rest until he destroyed the one who killed him.


	19. Lost L'tt'r

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Saw a challenge online. "Don't use the letter e".
> 
> Needless to say, hissing pythons happened

It was lost long ago, according to some old words, that sat upon falling walls. Of all 26 parts of Latin writ, only that tiny fifth part had such a dark mark upon it.

A pox upon thy soul, and to vanish, for just a tiny thought.

As if a hissing Python, his lungs push out warm air from his mouth, and it forms a mist in front of his hands, ivory from cold and snow.

With that lost part, his own word was lost. Asch, was what his family said now. This thought brings a small frown to his spotty front.

Asch laughs. And it's such a sad laugh.

His words... lost. Lost until... A sigh. Asch can't think of how to say it. To think it. No words.

It has no words. Won't again, at any point. Not so much as a singular thought.

Marcos lips flit into a crook, tilting upwards.

It warms Asch's cold... Torso? This stray thought draws out a sigh. Torso. How romantic, how charming... Not!

Marco has an asking, curious look at this, and puts a warm hand on Asch's back, pulling him right to him. Asch wraps both of his arms around Marcos waist.

"I do. I... So much I do." His lips tilt upwards, in a sad, mocking display of joy..

Asch has no words to say now. His words got lost, and could not find a way to him.

Lost. But Marco was always with him.

So it was okay.


	20. Never to be seen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What if Rouge had miscarried? What if Ace had never been born?

Luffy was never a quiet child. Loud, excitable, filled with laughter and joy.

But he was alone. He was so so lonely. There was no one for him to care for. No one to care about him.

Garp, good ol' Garp. He'd get his wish. Luffy would become a marine. A damn good marine, too.

He had no aspirations. Didn't grow up alongside dreamers with freedom flowing through their veins.

Sabo walked in the trash heap. A single wolf in a pack that would never exist. Eventually, his father would come.

Without any reason to stay, he would return home, to be bitterly molded into the noble his parents always dreamed of.

In a small island in the corner of the East Blue, the corpse of a man hangs from a post. Riddled with holes, dried blood smearing his clothes.

A man whose ambitions would never be realized.

On another island in the East Blue, a liar with a long nose was heartbroken when his best friend died.

He couldn't bring himself to tell another lie.

On yet another island, in a ditch near an abandoned beach, a shock of orange hair was all that could be seen of a body.

A woman, not even reached her prime, who'd failed to entertain her captors well enough.

On a floating restaurant, a chef with dreams grows old, never to chase them.

Until the day his family finds him, and then he regrets that he never searched for it.

On a winter island, a doctor reindeer wanders in the wilderness, avoiding people, avoiding animals.

It's been this way since the king returned, and his mentor was killed.

In a small desert nation, a deposed princess creeps through the alleyways. Wondering which day will be her last.

She doesn't even see the assassins knife.

A disaffected woman gazes at the blood on her hands. Last of the line, another history destined to fade into dust.

She will remember. She will carry that burden forever.

In the shipyards, four traitors creep closer to destroying the world.

And the one who dreams of building great ships, slowly forgets how. The water rising ever higher on the doomed island.

In the darkness, a dead man wails, forever and always.

Never to be heard.

In a close knit crew in the New World, a brother stabs another in the back.

It tears them apart.


	21. Ace's High

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Texas hold'em, and Ace is an immature shit

Aboard the Moby Dick one night, a small group of pirates were playing poker. It was late, and there were only a few stragglers left. Marco, Ace, Izo, and Thatch.

In fact, a hand had just ended. The five cards turned over were the Jack, King and Ace of Hearts, the Ace of Spades, and the Three of Clubs.

Needless to say, the last card was a bust.

Being the first to act, Marco turned his cards over, showing the others.

"I have a Straight to Ace, Yoi." And indeed, with Queen Ten of Spades, he had a high straight.

Ace, who'd probably had a few too many drinks at this point, sniggered. "Sooo, a straight to... Ace is winning, right now."

Next to Marco, Thatch the chef smirked, and practically threw his cards down. Five Two of Hearts. Everyone groaned just a bit. "Flush, Ace high! Take that!" And he pulled a triumphant face at Marco.

Ace snorted loudly in amusement, hiding behind his cards when Izo glanced his way. He'd folded on the flop, but kept his cards to see if they'd gone anywhere.

A pair of threes wasn't that bad in the end, he supposed, but it was definitely a good fold.

The blond raised an eyebrow, sighing. "Why are you playing stuff like that on such a big raise, Yoi?"

The brown haired chef was about to rake in the chips, when a fan shot out and rapped his hand.

"Not so fast, Thatch. The hand isn't over yet."

All eyes went to Izo. The feminine man was unfazed by the attention, calmly turning his cards over.

The Ace of Clubs and Ace of Diamonds say proudly on the table. "Four of a kind, Aces!"

Thatchs loud, indignant shout of denial wasn't enough to drown out the sound of Aces laughter. He couldn't hold it in anymore.

He sat there and laughed loudly, clutching his stomach. "Aces, Aces. Bahaha!"

The laughter was infectious. Even Thatch's pout curled up into a grin, as Izo pulled in all the money.

Marco smiled fondly. Things wouldn't be quite the same without their Ace.

 


	22. A stain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have about 6k words of other stuff written and more to go. Including prompts! But I hadn't posted anything in a while so here's just a short and silly thing. :)

The three of them stared down at the wine spilled on the white carpet in disbelief.

Sabo let out a long-suffering sigh, scratching the back of his head. "How the hell are we going to get this out?"

"If we can't get it out, just set it on fire." Said Ace, shrugging like it wasn't that big a deal.

Luffy nodded his head in agreement to Ace's words, and both of them grinned mischievously, rubbing their hands together.

"Why, you... No."

Well, until Sabo thumped the both of them over the head, anyway.

"We are not setting the apartment on fire just to hide a stain on the carpet."

**Author's Note:**

> got prompts?


End file.
